Agricultural harvesters, such as agricultural combines, are designed to travel through agricultural fields harvesting crops. Agricultural combines receive crop severed from the ground and convey it to threshing, separating and cleaning devices within the agricultural combine.
In a typical arrangement, the agricultural harvesting head severs the crop from the ground and conveys it to the central region of the harvesting head where it is then conveyed rearward into a central and forwardly opening aperture in the front of the agricultural combine proper.
Agricultural harvesting heads are quite long, on the order of 10-15 m in overall length. In order to accurately follow the contours of the ground and sever crop at the appropriate point on the stem, agricultural harvesting heads have been made in sections that are generally hinged with respect to each other. A typical agricultural harvesting head of this type is formed in two or three sections that are pivotable with respect to each other. They pivot with respect to each other about a generally horizontal and fore-and-aft extending axis. Thus, a two section agricultural harvesting head would have one pivot axis, and a three-section agricultural harvesting head would have two pivot axes.
To follow the contours of the ground even better, the agricultural harvesting heads include gauge wheels that are mounted on the wing sections of the agricultural harvesting head. As these wheels roll across the ground during harvesting they help support the weight of wing sections.
In order to transport these larger agricultural harvesting heads, the harvesting heads are disconnected from the feederhouse of the combine, placed on a trailer, and then attached to a tractor vehicle to pull the agricultural harvesting head down the road to another field. This process is time-consuming. Further, it requires the purchase of an additional vehicle (the trailer). It may also include another vehicle such as a pickup truck or other tractor vehicle to tow the agricultural harvesting head while the agricultural combine is driven to the next field as well. It would also require an additional person to drive the pickup truck or other tractor vehicle.
To reduce the manpower and equipment required, harvesting heads that have replaceable/convertible wheels have been designed. In these harvesting heads, the gauge wheels can be pivoted, removed, and reinserted, or otherwise adapted to be road wheels. This process, however, is time-consuming and laborious.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,243,810, a beam has two gauge wheels on opposing ends of the beam. A pivot joint located at one end of the beam permits the beam to rotate from a harvesting position to a transport position and supports one end of the beam. In the transport position, a prop 33A fixed to the other end of the beam supports the other end of the beam. Thus, the beam is supported at both ends on the frame of the agricultural harvesting head. This arrangement is awkward and laborious to manipulate and engage.
What is needed is a gauge wheel and transport wheel arrangement that reduces the time and effort required to convert an agricultural harvesting head into a transport configuration, and back again to a harvesting position.
It is an object of this invention to provide agricultural harvesting head with such a gauge wheel and transport wheel arrangement